As you know, many girls in South Africa are missing 3 to 5 days of school each month during their menstrual cycle due as they cannot afford sanitary pads. While at home they make use of unhygienic alternatives such as toilet rolls, newspaper, rags, socks, even chicken feathers and dried cow dung in the rural areas. These do not provide adequate protection and the girls are afraid of having an embarrassing accident at school so they rather just stay away on those days. Some even miss their exams. Most of these girls eventually fall so far behind that they drop out of school altogether, and the poverty cycle continues.

While there are many programs focusing on providing disposable pads to girls, this requires an ongoing donation and is therefore costly, especially the distribution of these. Disposable pads are not only unhealthy for the girl or woman wearing them but they also have a negative impact on the environment, especially in the rural areas where there is no municipal refuse collection service. The pads will just pile up overtime.

We, at Palesa Pads, manufacture high-quality reusable sanitary pads that can be washed and reused for up to 5 years, for less than 20% of the cost of disposable pads over the same period.
With our specially designed Flo Kit and cleaning process, a girl will only need 15 to 20 litres of water per month to wash her pads, that’s less water than 1 load of laundry in a washing machine.

Providing a girl with Palesa Pads would be a once-off donation for her entire high school career. She will never have to feel embarrassed during her period ever again, she can just focus on her school work.
Our pads are made with synthetic fabric that is soft and comfortable while still providing a stay dry feeling all day. The absence of harmful chemicals, means that a girl experiences fewer cramps and no longer has to suffer that awful smell of menstruation caused by disposable pads.

Attached is more information about our pads as well as the activations and menstrual health program that we run on behalf of and in conjunction with the sponsors of Palesa Pads.

To date we have already helped over 1,000 girls get back to school, please join us in helping the next 1,000.

“When you educate a girl child you educate a nation.”